Former Wigan Warriors man Ryan Sutton has high hopes of landing another NRL deal, despite interest coming from Super League.
Sutton has been based down under since leaving Wigan at the end of the 2018 Super League campaign, after penning an initial deal with Canberra Raiders.
The forward spent four full seasons with the Raiders before joining Canterbury Bulldogs ahead of the 2023 campaign, but he made just 13 appearances for the Bulldogs with injuries severely restricting his game time. He was released by the Bulldogs earlier this year before penning a short-term deal with Gold Coast Titans.
However, after failing to make a single appearance for the Titans due to injury once more, Sutton now finds himself without a club.
A report from the Daily Telegraph claims that some Super League clubs have registered their interest in the prop. Sutton is determined to stay down under, though, and he’s doing all he can to persuade an NRL outfit that he is worth a deal, with the Englishman working hard over the off-season on his fitness.
Ryan Sutton keen to earn new NRL deal
“I am ready and raring to go pre-season,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
“It is the first opportunity that I’ve had in the last two to go into day one and be fully fighting fit. I’ve been non-stop training. The knee is feeling unbelievable.”
Sutton’s injury issues at the Bulldogs started with a ruptured patella and an injury to the same knee eventually led to the forward being cut loose by the Bulldogs amid suggestions that he might have to retire.
“There was that conversation and that’s where they were coming from,” Sutton added. “Retirement did come into my head a few times especially when I did it the second time.
“I had a bit of time to reflect and speak with my wife. We were both like, ‘No’.
“I’ve done this my whole life. It was the only major injury I’ve had. A lot of people struggled to come back to it but a lot of people aren’t me.
“If people tell me to do something, I will prove you wrong. I’ll say, ‘I can show you’.
“That’s been my mentality towards anything. If someone wants me to medically retire and it’s not my decision, I’ll tell you no.
“I feel like I am fitter than ever and my body is in the best shape it has been in for years.”
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